goodbye may seem forever
by Alne
Summary: Leo looking back at those moments with Elliot...those moments that he can't forget, not when this was all his doing.  Song-fic.


Song-Fic from me for my new tragic OTP – Leo& Elliot.  
>Will be working on an MMV to match this; expect to see it up and running in a few days on YouTube. This particular fanfic is based off of the song from Fox&amp; the Hound, "Goodbye may seem Forever". It always brings tears to my eyes, and fits Leo and Elliot's recent tragedies perfectly. Mind you I started writing this before Chapter 61's release, so, it may differ a bit from everything that has happened in the recent chapter.<p>

After a death yesterday, I was compelled to finish this, not just for the original person this was meant for, but now.. how the now-deceased's family will miss her and wish for her to be back in their warm embrace.

Mind you I'm not looking for anything insanely in-character; this was something really personal to me, so I'm apologize in advance for any OOC that occurs from here on out.

-

_**-We met, it seems, such a short time ago.-**_

It was just another night of the same things. Another interrogation executed by Pandora onto Leo had left him in as much of a broken mess as he had been these past few days. It was just the same old thing, over and over again. And the former-Nightray servant wasn't sure how much pressure he could be put under before he snapped.

Snapped like a taut piano wire.

Everytime he lay alone in the room that Pandora had holed him up in, he could only think of how things used to be; how his happiness had grown at the side of his beloved friend and Master. The mere thought of reliving those happy memories brought painful tears to Leo's eyes.

_**-You looked at me - needing me so.-**_

He often wondered to himself in the dark of the night, what could have been, had he just stayed in the corner of the library that day? Or if he had simply stayed with his first denial at Elliot's request of his servitude. Perhaps the Nightray would still be alive; so many would still be alive.

And he would probably still be in that orphanage he had found refuge in for so long.  
>Covered eyes glazed over, and drifted towards the small bookshelf on the wall opposite the bed where he lay. A few stray copies of The Holy Knight series remained tucked tightly away between the miscellaneous novels that lay untouched.<p>

_**-Yet from your sadness...-**_

Leo looked back onto a time that seemed so long ago now.

_The night seemed so cold and long. Rain had been pouring for what seemed like centuries, and lightning flashed outside the windows of the Nightray manor. Hail pelted the windows, and loud bangs erupted from the impacts._

_It was a night that could be considered by many to be snuggled and tucked away in bed, perhaps in the arms of a beloved person. Then the storm would seem less frightening - one could feel as though the storm would pass, and the morning would soon come._

_**-Our happiness grew.-**___

_Leo had been in the library, catching up on a few things when the storm had begun. Never having been susceptible to such things, he simply brushed it off and ignored the scary world outside the manor. Soon he crumpled up onto the chair he had been reading in, and let himself drift to sleep._

_And when he had awoken, he knew the time for rest was soon; no point in staying up terribly late (Elliot would pitch such a fit, after all), so he put the book back from the shelf it had come from, and began to slip down the hallway towards his sleeping-quarters._

_Though...upon passing Elliot's room, he heard something one who knew him lightly could only describe as odd._

_**-And I found out I needed you too.-**___

_There was an obvious sniffling cry coming from the other side of the door. Leo faltered in his steps, standing as if frozen for a moment. To some, they would just pass it off as Elliot having a dream, or the cry of a bird flown in through an open window, trapped in the manor._

_He knew better._

_Quietly making his way to the door, Leo knocked softly, and stepped into Elliot's bedroom. The sight was one he had come across multiple times before; his Master, entangled in his bedding, a tear and sweat mixture covering his face. Leo shut the door behind him, and let his feet carry him over to the broken Nightray._

_Elliot's fingers were ripping into the fabric of the sheets, a small tearing noise emerging from it, mixed with the sniffs and gurgles of his cries. Kneeling down at the side of the bed, Leo inquired softly,_

_"Nightmares again..?"_

_The Nightray could only nod weakly in response, shaking his head shortly after, as if that would rattle his brain into dispersing the constant night terrors away completely. Leo sighed, and lifted his hand to run his fingers through the almost-blonde hair. He received a flinch, but continued with his ministrations regardless._

_"They've been getting so much worse, Leo.."_

_Elliot finally gurgled out, curling instinctively in on himself, as if it would shield him from the fierce storm that lay just outside his window. His body still felt hot and sticky, as if all those people around him, blood curdling into the floor, their blood was still fresh and reeking on his night clothes._

_Leo ran his fingers through Elliot's hair once more, before standing up, and settling himself down to the boy next to him. Encouraging Elliot to sit up on his bed, and at least lean his back against the wall was quite a task but he managed it after a while, mimicking his actions perfectly so they looked one in the same._

_**-I remember how we used to play.-**___

_"Elliot.."_

_Leo whispered softly, looking at him with his head tilted slightly to the side. Elliot gave him a half-hearted harsh look from the corner of his red/tear-stained eyes, nodding as if to tell his servant to continue._

_"Don't be scared."_

_The Nightray froze, and was about to give Leo a tart response of how he wasn't scared, and how it was just a dream and nothing more...until he felt hair tickling his face and he froze as Leo leaned his head on Elliot's shoulder, two smaller hands engulfing Elliot's which were tightly wound together near the top of his knees._

_"I'm here."_

_Leo assured him softly, as Elliot once again began to weep, and lean his head on Leo's, tears dripping into the thick, messy black hair, hands fumbling for his, and squeezing onto them as though they were his life slowly slipping away._

_"I'm here..."_

_**-I recall those rainy days.- **_

With that memory, it only further sunk Leo into the miserable rut his life had become. The only thing he would ever have to look forward to, is those memories—those wonderful memories of his Master. True, they would forever bring tears and sadness to his beautiful eyes.

But...

Leo couldn't help but let his memories drift back again.

_**-The fire's glow, that kept us warm-**___

_Not long after the incident of Elliot's raging nightmare, and of Leo's comfort – a complete role-reversal had occurred. It was now the servant and not the Master, who was waking up in terror, tears streaming down his face, body glimmering with sweat. Leo had heard whispers in his dreams, blaming him for Elliot's curse._

_Elliot's disease – that of an illegal contractor._

_The shivering boy brought his knees closer to his face, burying it further into his limbs, wishing the voices would stop...wishing that this had never happened._

_Wishing they had never got into the devil's lair that miserable day._

_His sobs had not gone unnoticed to his diligent friend, who was, very much like Leo that evening, keeping a silent vigil outside his servant's quarters. He knew something was ailing Leo, yet trying to pinpoint something like that was nearly impossible._

_**-And now I find, we're both alone-**___

_"Leo.."_

_Elliot whispered softly, entering the room, letting the door close softly behind him, doing the latch. Leo, startled by the sudden intrusion, scooted backwards suddenly, hitting the back of his head on the wall near his bed. Gripping the mess of black hair tightly, he sniffed and shook his head,_

_"Elliot, I—"_

_How he desperately craved to tell him what he had done. How he had made his own Master, his best-friend, drink the blood of that chain to keep his soul here, with him...where it belonged._

_But before he had a chance to utter any of those tragic apologies, he was encased in a surrounding warmth, and a shuddering gasp escaped him at the open affection._

_"You're not alone, Leo."_

_Elliot's hands trailed softly through Leo's hair, soothing his trembling servant._

_**-Goodbye may seem forever-**___

_"...idiot."_

_Leo nearly choked at the half-hearted insult, and clung desperately to that warmth, knowing very well that one day soon...if he wasn't careful, if he did not keep a wary eye close to Elliot, someday the darkness would suck him into the catacombs that could only be described as a "near-hellish" experience._

_"Just..."_

_Leo's fingers gripped painfully tight at Elliot's nightshirt, the fabric fraying and tearing slightly underneath the fierce clawing—the fierce desire to be closer to the blonde._

_**-Farewell is like the end-**___

_"Don't be swallowed by darkness."_

_Elliot's eyebrows raised curiously at this, and as he pulled back to attempt to brush his servant's bangs from his face, to wipe away his tears, he suddenly found lips covering his own._

_Blue eyes widened, as his body stiffened at the sudden affection; L-Leo was..._

_Leo clung desperately to Elliot's collar, not giving him any room to withdraw from the affection. And even if Elliot could...he wouldn't have, because he found himself aching for that desire to be close to Leo._

_He simply hid it; his family had already thought of Leo as vile, so if Elliot were to express an interest in him whatsoever? A duke, to a lowly servant? For shame._

_**-But in my heart's a memory.-**___

_And so the two clung onto each other, as though they're lives depended on it._

_They simply could not let go..._

Leo softly let his fingers trail up to his lips, as un-lensed eyes drifted down to the glasses laying deserted on the floor in front of him, and then towards the window in the corner of the dark room.

There was the moon...shining brightly.

Like Elliot always had through the darkest of nights.

_**-And there...we'll always be...-**_


End file.
